KOMBUCHA QUESTIONS

Q: WHAT IS KOMBUCHA?

Kombucha is a fermented tea that is full of probiotics, digestive enzymes and B Vitamins. MotherLove’s kombucha is raw, organic and made from ethically sourced and many local ingredients. We use a mix organic black and green tea. People drink it for gut health and because it’s organic.

Our brews have all been tested and the information can be found on the nutritional chart on the side. All kombucha starts out using sugar but the sugar and caffeine are meant to feed the scoby. It consumes about 75%of the caffeine and sugar leaving very little in the final product. Flavours with fruit will have a slightly higher content due to the added juice but there is still very little juice compared to kombucha.

Q: WHAT IS THE SUGAR CONTENT IN KOMBUCHA?

A SCOBY is an acronym for Symbiotic Colony of bacteria and yeast. It is the culture that makes kombucha from the sweet tea. It is edible and okay to consume if you find small pieces in your kombucha.

Q: WHAT IS A SCOBY?

To keep extras, create a Scoby Hotel - a 4L brewing container with sweet tea. It's always nice to have a few just incase of mold or if a fruit fly gets in and you have to throw your scoby out. Extra scobies also make excellent additions to your compost, can be given away or kept some for backups/experiments.

Q: What do I do with extra scobies?

Q: Can I take a break from brewing?

If you are going to take a break from brewing for longer than 6 weeks it's a good idea to creating a "scoby hotel" or a holding jar. Every 4-6 weeks discard some of the liquid and add some fresh tea stirred in to combine. The fresh tea should be about 80% of the jar.

Longer term breaks can be more difficult to manage safely and can starve the scoby if not fed enough. It's best to find a scoby sitter.

Q: Why does the caRbonation level vary?

We choose to naturally carbonate our kombucha so the levels of carbonation may vary from batch to batch. Since we use a lot of fresh, local fruit in the summer, those brews can tend to be on the fizzier side. It is very important to keep kombucha refrigerated at all times. Leaving your kombucha at room temperature will allow it to continue fermenting, which increases the carbonation and could break the bottle.

Kombucha can have a slight alcohol content. With the content being below 0.5% it is the same as drinking a nonalcoholic beer. We both drank kombucha while pregnant and breastfeeding with both children although it is totally personal preference. Many women do find the ginger can help with morning sickness and is a healthier alternative to ginger ale. Also take into account if you've been drinking kombucha prior to becoming pregnant. Continue with consuming is typically safe since the body knows what to do with it. Generally starting new things while pregnant isn’t recommended.

Q: CAN I DRINK KOMBUCHA IF I’M PREGNANT/BREASTFEEDING?

If you’re looking for health benefits then you need to drink at least a quarter cup a day however the maximum really depends on your body and metabolism. Listen to your body. Always start slowly with moderation.

Q: CAN I DRINK TOO MUCH KOMBUCHA?

All of our flavours are vegan EXCEPT our Sweet Ginger. It has local honey from Brainy Bee who is a vendor at the Kelowna Farmers Market.

Q: IS YOUR KOMBUCHA VEGAN?

It's personal choice. We have both been giving kombucha to our little ones since they were 6 months old. We like that it's a non-dairy way to give our children probiotics. Start of with a servingthe size of a sample cup and work your way up.

Q: CAN CHILDREN DRINK KOMBUCHA?

WATER KEFIR QUESTIONS

Water kefir is a fermented drink similar to kombucha but is made with sugar and water that is fermented using kefir grains. The grains are gluten free and also a colony of bacteria and yeast that consume the sugar in the fermentation process to create a probiotic rich drink.

Q: WHAT IS WATER KEFIR

The main difference is that kombucha is made with sweetened tea and kefir is made with sugar and water. The grains for water kefir are different then milk kefir grains and cannot be used interchangeably.